Making Leap to Cantonese Opera
Lately, I have been spending time watching and re-watching DVD recordings of various live stage performances as well as movie versions of Cantonese operatic productions.
It all started out with the re-viewing of the Cantonese musical production of “The Dark Tales” [聊齋新誌] following by “A Sentimental Journey” [劍雪浮生]. Those are the first two theatre productions on DVDs that I happen to own until my collection has been extended recently to include Cantonese Opera.
In retrospect, I felt connected with “The Dark Tales” almost immediately (at the very first viewing ;) since the musical strikes a lot of familiarized elements that I have been introduced before in ancient costume TVB TV series of the 80s - in term of characters and settings along with classic Cantonese songs and dances.
As for “A Sentimental Journey”, it did not clicked to me right then, mainly due to my lack of knowledge about the who’s who in Hong Kong’s Cantonese Opera history.
The retelling of the celebrated lives and work stories of talented Cantonese operatic playwright Tong Tik Sang 唐滌生 and master Cantonese operatic performers Yam Kim Fai 任劍輝 and Pak Suet Sin 白雪仙 didn’t initially come across as an inspirational piece of a musical production.
Only on the second viewing, a long five years following the first, I began to get a hang at the alternate storytelling scenes that were acted out in highlighting and documenting those career lives of Tong Tik Sang, Yam Kim Fai and Pak Suet Sin as they crossed paths and made their marks in the history of Cantonese Opera.
This second chance of viewing allows me to watch “A Sentimental Journey” from a different perspective. I started to appreciate how cleverly the show were put together and what wonderful performance it was from the cast, especially from Connie Chan Po Chu, Au Ka Man and Leung Hon Wai in their portraying of Yam Kim Fai, Pak Suet Sin and Tong Tik Sang respectively.
Moreover, the stories of Yam, Pak and Tong, the development of the Sin Fung Ming Opera Troupe and the traditional art form of Cantonese Opera in particular had intrigued me greatly. It re-ignited the passion in me to fully return with my first love for stage performances.
Yet, before making that leap, I did wait out just a bit longer. . .
The only stage production that I was hesitating in getting my hand on since I last bought “A Sentimental Journey” is “Only You” [天之驕子]. It’s another Cantonese musical performance produced by Spring-Time Stage Productions, starring Connie Chan Po Chu and Adam Cheng Siu Chow.
At the time, my main reason for hesitating in buying “Only You” was because the Hong Kong DVD version of the recording set was produced without English subtitles. Although I was able to understand conversational Cantonese, what are being spoken and sang on stage is a whole different story; especially, when classic poem like referencing narration is being recited in between dances and songs.
However, after being mesmerized via the second viewing of “A Sentimental Journey”, I braced myself to manage with only traditional Chinese subtitles. As it turned out, the viewing of “Only You” was fun and interesting due to the light-hearted story of Mang Lai Kwan 孟麗君 (Mạnh Lệ Quân) and the incorporation of some Cantonese operatic elements.
And “Yes!” I did manage to make the most in understanding the performance (with a bit of guessing going on, of course :). That boosted my confidence in looking forward to truly watch a typical Cantonese Opera performance in its entirety (all 7? parts in 3-4 hours).
Nevertheless, I felt so nervous upon the moment I placed the ordering for the 2006/07 returning to stage production of the Cantonese Opera classic “Princess Chang Ping” [帝女花] Dai Nui Fa. Besides the fact that it was a very big investment money wise, by doing so, I'm ready to commit myself to Cantonese Opera. It’s no longer simply a stage musical. And the rest is history since I felt completely in love with it!
It all started out with the re-viewing of the Cantonese musical production of “The Dark Tales” [聊齋新誌] following by “A Sentimental Journey” [劍雪浮生]. Those are the first two theatre productions on DVDs that I happen to own until my collection has been extended recently to include Cantonese Opera.
In retrospect, I felt connected with “The Dark Tales” almost immediately (at the very first viewing ;) since the musical strikes a lot of familiarized elements that I have been introduced before in ancient costume TVB TV series of the 80s - in term of characters and settings along with classic Cantonese songs and dances.
As for “A Sentimental Journey”, it did not clicked to me right then, mainly due to my lack of knowledge about the who’s who in Hong Kong’s Cantonese Opera history.
The retelling of the celebrated lives and work stories of talented Cantonese operatic playwright Tong Tik Sang 唐滌生 and master Cantonese operatic performers Yam Kim Fai 任劍輝 and Pak Suet Sin 白雪仙 didn’t initially come across as an inspirational piece of a musical production.
Only on the second viewing, a long five years following the first, I began to get a hang at the alternate storytelling scenes that were acted out in highlighting and documenting those career lives of Tong Tik Sang, Yam Kim Fai and Pak Suet Sin as they crossed paths and made their marks in the history of Cantonese Opera.
This second chance of viewing allows me to watch “A Sentimental Journey” from a different perspective. I started to appreciate how cleverly the show were put together and what wonderful performance it was from the cast, especially from Connie Chan Po Chu, Au Ka Man and Leung Hon Wai in their portraying of Yam Kim Fai, Pak Suet Sin and Tong Tik Sang respectively.
Moreover, the stories of Yam, Pak and Tong, the development of the Sin Fung Ming Opera Troupe and the traditional art form of Cantonese Opera in particular had intrigued me greatly. It re-ignited the passion in me to fully return with my first love for stage performances.
Yet, before making that leap, I did wait out just a bit longer. . .
The only stage production that I was hesitating in getting my hand on since I last bought “A Sentimental Journey” is “Only You” [天之驕子]. It’s another Cantonese musical performance produced by Spring-Time Stage Productions, starring Connie Chan Po Chu and Adam Cheng Siu Chow.
At the time, my main reason for hesitating in buying “Only You” was because the Hong Kong DVD version of the recording set was produced without English subtitles. Although I was able to understand conversational Cantonese, what are being spoken and sang on stage is a whole different story; especially, when classic poem like referencing narration is being recited in between dances and songs.
However, after being mesmerized via the second viewing of “A Sentimental Journey”, I braced myself to manage with only traditional Chinese subtitles. As it turned out, the viewing of “Only You” was fun and interesting due to the light-hearted story of Mang Lai Kwan 孟麗君 (Mạnh Lệ Quân) and the incorporation of some Cantonese operatic elements.
And “Yes!” I did manage to make the most in understanding the performance (with a bit of guessing going on, of course :). That boosted my confidence in looking forward to truly watch a typical Cantonese Opera performance in its entirety (all 7? parts in 3-4 hours).
Nevertheless, I felt so nervous upon the moment I placed the ordering for the 2006/07 returning to stage production of the Cantonese Opera classic “Princess Chang Ping” [帝女花] Dai Nui Fa. Besides the fact that it was a very big investment money wise, by doing so, I'm ready to commit myself to Cantonese Opera. It’s no longer simply a stage musical. And the rest is history since I felt completely in love with it!
Comments